The restoration of Russian oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline to Slovakia, confirmed early Thursday by Bratislava, has ended a two-month standoff that exposed the deepening fractures within the European Union over energy dependence and solidarity with Ukraine. The pipeline, which also carries crude to Hungary, was halted in late January after Ukraine reported that Russian strikes had damaged a section of the line on its territory. Viewed from Kyiv, the resumption represents a pragmatic concession to avoid further diplomatic isolation, though officials have stressed that repairs were completed as a technical obligation, not a political favour.

In Budapest and Bratislava, where reliance on Russian oil remains entrenched despite EU sanctions, the restart was greeted with relief but also with lingering bitterness. Both governments had accused Ukraine of deliberately stalling the repairs to pressure them into cutting ties with Moscow. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has blocked a major EU loan package for Ukraine in recent weeks, signalled that the pipeline restart would not automatically dissolve the broader impasse.

Analysts in London note that the episode has laid bare the limits of Brussels’ ability to enforce a unified energy policy. While most of the bloc has weaned itself off Russian crude, the landlocked states of Hungary and Slovakia enjoy exemptions that allow them to continue buying from Moscow via the Druzhba link. The crisis also highlighted how energy leverage is now wielded not only by Moscow but also by Kyiv, which controls the transit route.

The resumption of flows, while temporarily soothing immediate supply anxieties, does little to resolve the structural vulnerability of these economies or the strategic mistrust between Ukraine and its eastern EU neighbours. Looking ahead, the question is whether the restart will lead to a détente or merely a pause in hostilities. With winter behind them and storage levels adequate for now, Hungary and Slovakia may feel less urgency to diversify.

Yet observers in Washington caution that any sustained disruption to the pipeline could have been exploited by Moscow to deepen dependency and drive a wedge between EU capitals. The Druzhba saga, then, is far from over: it has become a recurring reminder that Europe’s energy transition is not a linear journey but a volatile negotiation between geography, history and political will.